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I like to remove the coach top handrails of my 1979 CD27 to strip and varnish them. I was wondering if anyone has done this before and what type of mounting hardware is used to secure it. Is it through bolted with the nuts in the headliner (like CD 22's handrails) in the cabin or are wood screws and glue used?
Unless your main objective is to re bed them, I would finish them in place.
It is going to be a good bit of work to get them off and then reinstall them. Once you put a perfect, bench top, finish on them, you will need to refasten them to the boat. Then put in new teak plugs which will need to be trimmed, sanded and finished in place. I have found it hard to match up the finish around the plugs. I suppose you could take them off, scrape and sand them, then just do the bottom and edges, if re bedding is a priority. Then once they were in place with new plugs, sanded flush you could finish the tops in place.
You could make more work for yourself than you same by trying to remove them, Steve.
My 30 has wood screws under the bungs. When I refinished mine years ago. I took them off (they came of very easily), cleaned them up, put on two or three coats of varnish at home, bedded with butyl, installed bungs and vanished with 7 or 8 more coats. This way the varnish on the bungs was the same as the rest of the hand rail.
Keith wrote:My 30 has wood screws under the bungs. When I refinished mine years ago. I took them off (they came of very easily), cleaned them up, put on two or three coats of varnish at home, bedded with butyl, installed bungs and vanished with 7 or 8 more coats. This way the varnish on the bungs was the same as the rest of the hand rail.
Keith
Mine was just like yours Keith. Wood screws under bungs bedded with butyl tape. Thanks again for the spot on advice. Here is the "after" photo. Pulled the combing boards as well.
JD-MDR wrote:Please post how you bed the combings. I want to do mine sometime also.Thanks
When I pulled them off it looked like there was butyl around the screw holes and gap in-between the combing boards and the cockpit had a heavy bead of caulk. That's what the plan is to put it back together. I'll also fill in the screw holes with epoxy/hardener and re drill so I get a good mechanical bond.
Thanks Appletim, When I got this boat there was a big gap and the boards were coming off the cabin . I did a quick fix and just calked it from the outside. I want to redo it "Far reach" style. Not for a while though. Also the companion way boards need to be re-bedded. I will follow the example of "Orion". Now that I have a dodger. I've slow that one but some water still finds its way in
